Kente and the Politics of Being Read

On June 8, 2020, a group of Democratic lawmakers knelt on the floor of the United States Capitol for eight minutes and forty-six seconds, the duration then believed to mark how long a Minneapolis officer had knelt on George Floyd’s neck, later revised at trial to nine minutes and twenty-nine seconds. Several of them wore […]
The Value Problem: What a Dress Really Costs

Two women stood side by side at a worktable in Lisa Folawiyo’s Lagos studio, threading beads onto a dress from the upcoming collection
Lagos Fashion Week 2025: A Final Recap

Lagos Fashion Week’s fifteenth-anniversary edition delivered on its promise to position the city as a serious fashion capital. Over five days, more than fifty designers presented
Lagos Fashion Week: All the Highlights from Day Four

Day four of Lagos Fashion Week unfolded in layers of textures and colors, with designers leaning into movement and meaning through
Inside Ifebuche Madu’s Exhibition of Nigerian Textile and Traditional Dye

Ifebuche Madu believes fashion storytelling must move beyond surface optics, and it’s what led her deeper into curating “In the Beginning, There Was Cloth”—a textile exhibition that brings this truth to the fore, tracing the layered narratives woven into Adire, Akwete, and Uli. “It is a journey that takes us back to our ancient times […]
Inside Ugo Mozie’s Eleven Sixteen Presentation at Casa Cipriani in New York

Named for his November 16 birthday, Eleven Sixteen marks celebrity stylist Ugo Mozie’s evolution into a full fashion collection, born from his Enugu roots and global journey. The Nigerian-American creative director, whose designs have adorned Blue Ivy’s Cowboy Carter tour and Diana Ross’s Met Gala appearance, presented his most comprehensive vision yet with the preview […]
What Makes a Brand African? Rethinking Made in Africa Fashion

While African fashion has reached greater heights—the question of what makes a brand “African” resists easy answers. It can’t be answered through surface-level aesthetics or generic motifs, but instead, it demands a deeper interrogation of history, structure, and power. At first glance, one might say an African brand is one founded or designed by an […]